Simply Say ‘Siri': How Automakers Can Integrate Apple’s ‘Eyes Free’

Image: Simon Lutrin/Wired

Apple’s announcement that Siri is coming “Eyes Free” into cars left more questions than answers at WWDC this week. But after talking with automakers, examining how voice controls are currently embedded in vehicles and looking at Apple’s own patent filing for a steering wheel-mounted remote, we have a clearer view of how Apple’s personal assistant will integrate into your next ride.

There’s been plenty of confusion about what form Siri Eyes Free will take when it eventually comes to vehicles in the next year, and from what we can gather, there are a few possible models that automakers working with Apple will follow.

Image: BMW

The first thing we can conclude is that Apple probably won’t have its own button in your car. Many new vehicles are already equipped with a voice control button on the steering wheel, and it’s doubtful automakers will develop and install a dedicated button just for Siri. After all, there are plenty of non-Apple smartphones in the world, and automakers want to cater to as many devices as possible.

So they will likely use the existing voice control button. In its current form, when the voice button is depressed, the factory-installed infotainment system brings up a series of possible commands the driver can execute, from “Navigate” to “Play playlist Kid Cudi.” To maintain existing infotainment functionality, automakers won’t completely cede control to the user’s iPhone. Instead, when the voice button is pressed, the user could simply say “Siri” and the on-board controls would recognize the command and divert the following voice commands to the iPhone. This solution allows automakers to keep their existing controls in place and maintain a modicum of control, while still allowing drivers to utilize Siri’s multitude of natural language inputs.

While this might seem like an obvious solution, there’s more to it than simply reprogramming the navigation system. To that end, we can look to Mercedes-Benz, which recently introduced its entry-level A-Class to the European market with one of the most Apple-friendly head units fitted to a production vehicle.

Images: Mercedes-Benz

The new A-Class features a separate Apple-centric infotainment display that allows drivers to access their iPhones through the control knob-based COMAND (Cockpit Management and Data) system, with the iPhone docked safely in the center console. By selecting the iPhone from the source inputs, a dedicated screen is enabled, providing access to many of the iPhone’s functions — including Siri. This new “DriveStyle” app was originally shown at the Geneva Motor Show, with a refined version debuting at CES earlier this year. But one component was missing, and Apple delivered the goods on Monday.

The environment inside a car (road and wind noise, engine hum, etc.) is very different from what Siri is designed to interact with. Apple’s personal assistant has been optimized for use with the internal mic on the iPhone, but what Apple didn’t divulge during its WWDC announcement was that Siri in iOS 6 will be tuned for in-car use. Specifically, it will be able to recognize voice commands over the low thrum of exterior noises leaking their way inside the car. Sasha Simon, the head of advance product planning at Mercedes-Benz, explained the implementation to Wired, telling us that when the driver presses the steering wheel voice control button in the A-Class, Siri will be the default voice control. “Apple changed the algorithms to work in the car environment,” according to Simon, and that was the final piece of the puzzle. While the A-Class won’t be on sale in the United States any time soon, Simon tells Wired that Siri integration will be available on the range of Mercedes-Benz products “within the next six months, possibly in early 2013.”

Image: US Patent 8,177,182

The other option is the aftermarket route, where a dedicated device — likely mounted on the steering wheel and already patented by Apple — would allow owners to add Siri functionality to their existing vehicle without having to shell out the coin for an all-new car. If the iPhone is tethered to the stereo — either over Bluetooth or USB — the button would pair with the phone, allowing the driver to access Siri with a simple press, and just as importantly, keep their iPhone stashed away to avoid distraction.

This solution would be particularly appealing to both drivers of older vehicles, as well as Apple, who could sell the steering wheel-mounted device as an accessory. But for now, most of this is speculation. And after talking with automakers, there’s still plenty of details to be hashed out before we see exactly how Siri Eyes Free makes its way into our cars.